Sustainability

          It doesn’t take being here for long to notice the deliberate effort to be a more sustainable society. The wide-spread use of public transportation and the sheer amount of bikes are testament to that. But there’s more to it than just that. Grocery stores charge money for each bag you use. Brining a giant backpack to the grocery store is the norm. I have to say though, I really like bringing my own bag to the grocery store. While this may increase the amount of trips I take to the grocery store each week I think I prefer - this is certainly a habit I'll be taking back to the states with me. Grocery stores also charge a pfand or deposit for every recyclable bottle you purchase. That pfand will be returned to you when you return the bottle. Starbucks cups are the same volume but here they are shaped differently to use the least and thinnest amount of plastic necessary to achieve that volume. And it doesn’t stop there either, dryers basically don’t exist in German homes as a means to reduce energy use. As of right now, this looks like air dried towels that result in them being crunchy and crusty and anything but soft. I’m sure I will find other cons of the no-dryer situation in the future. After returning from a bar with friends one night here, after I actually got lost when I took the wrong bus to the opposite end of the city, I took a shower around 3am. When I accidentally bumped the shower handle in the middle of my shower shutting the water off (fully coated in bubbles mind you) I thought the water turned off because of some German timer or something. I was so convinced of this I just dried off with my crunchy air-dried towel and didn’t even try to turn the water back on I was that sure it was just another sustainability thing. I regret this.